Baby steps to Calder Cup

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OTTAWA - Two locally grown Senators prospects whose season went in different directions came together, with Calder Cup in hand, to the Bell Sensplex Thursday.

And while both will almost certainly play for Binghamton in 2011-12, they will arrive at Ottawa’s training camp with different mindsets.

Defenceman Mark Borowiecki, a Kanata native selected in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, is aiming to crack the team’s NHL roster despite the fact the Senators have six experienced blueliners on one-way contacts, plus highly touted Swede David Rundblad who should challenge for a Top 4 job with the big club.

Winger Corey Cowick, a Gloucester product chosen in the sixth round of the 2009 draft, simply wants to wear a Senators logo on his chest next season.

His chances have improved immeasurably with the one-way deals players like Colin Greening, Erik Condra and Bobby Butler have been signed to in the last few months.

“I want to be a contributing factor in Binghamton,” said Cowick, the former 67’s sniper whose first year of pro hockey was spent evenly divided between the Baby Sens and the Elmira Jackals of the East Coast League — but then was relegated to the Black Aces squad for the entire AHL playoffs. “A guy who’s not just going to go out there and waste six or seven minutes a night. A guy who is going to go out and contribute, and that the coach can throw out anytime, and not have to think twice about it.”

Borowiecki, a stay-at-home type, had a whirlwind 2010-11. He finished his three-year term with Clarkson University in March, then was brought to Binghamton for a look. He showed well. The 6-foot-1, 198-pounder wound up playing nine regular-season games, then became a regular in 21 of the 23 steps to the championship. Borowiecki, in fact, suited up while a guy like Patrick Wiercioch, a second-rounder, spent eight games in the pressbox beside Cowick.

No wonder he has his sights set high.

“Going into training camp, my goal will be to try and make it as tough as possible for management to send me down,” Borowiecki said. “I know I’m not entitled to anything, so I’m going to go in there and work as hard as I can, hopefully make a good impression.

“I’m not going to make it my goal to just make Binghamton. I’m going to go in there hoping I can make Ottawa.

“Right now, I’m in the weight room with Cory, and there’s a few other guys there like Chris Neil and Matt Carkner, and to see how hard those guys work gives me an example to follow. It’s going to take that much extra effort on the ice and off the ice this summer to get to that next level.”

Even though he didn’t participate in Binghamton’s run to the pinnacle, Cowick said he “learned what it takes to be a champion, and it takes a lot, for sure.”

Bringing the symbol of success to the nation’s capital was important, he added.

“In Ottawa, the last couple of years, we had the Stanley Cup final, then we’ve gone through a little bit of rebuilding phase,” Cowick said. “I think the fact the younger guys brought home a cup means a lot to the organization and the city. Sometimes with a rebuild you have to wait a long time, as we’re seeing in the NHL, but I think this is kind of a breath of fresh air. (Shows) you don’t have to wait as long.”